Bitcoin slumps below $16,000, futures trading halts temporarily

Just days after crossing the $17,000 mark, bitcoin briefly slumped below $16,000 per coin on Wednesday.

The spike in volatility triggered a two minute halt to bitcoin futures trading on Cboe Global Markets’ exchange, which launched bitcoin futures on Sunday, according to John Spallanzani at GFI Group. The new product allows bitcoin bears to actively bet against the cryptocurrency. Cboe has so-called circuit breakers to dampen volatility in periods of wild trading.

Before Wednesday, the launch of futures trading had given bitcoin yet another boost, with the cryptocurrency climbing 6% since Sunday.

Bitcoin still has a stranglehold on the cryptocurrency market, with a total capitalization of $274.6 billion. Ethereum, it’s closest competitor, has a market cap of $65.86 billion.